Are Superworms actually Mealworms?

Established Member

So they look really similar and I can't find a clear answer on this. Caresheets only mention Mealworms and waxworms being harder to digest. Pulled up some old threads and they mention superworms being bad. I am so confused. Looking to add in another feeder to his daily crickets and dubia's. I don't want to add in Superworms if they will be hard to digest. Thinking 7 crickets, 3 dubia, and 3 superworms each day. Secondary question can I toss them all into the same feeding cup in enclosure or will they kill each other.

Ok and when you say super worms are more of a candy do you mean that they shouldn't be fed each day? He is 6 months old now. He loves Horn worms but they grow so fast that after 4 days they were too big to give him.

Thank you. I did find that info in a thread. I am still trying to figure out what staple feeders are. The Care sheets give a great list but don't break them down into every feed staple and treats. Also how often are "treats" given? With Super worms are they like an every feed staple or how often should they be fed. Or I am possibly over thinking this completely.

Avid Member

Ok and when you say super worms are more of a candy do you mean that they shouldn't be fed each day? He is 6 months old now. He loves Horn worms but they grow so fast that after 4 days they were too big to give him.

They shouldn’t be fed everyday. More as a treat. Maybe a few one day a week. Or if you take him out you can give him one to let him know good things come when he comes out. they have a tendency to get addicted to them so if you feed them a lot they will go on a hunger strike and only eat supers.

Established Member

They shouldn’t be fed everyday. More as a treat. Maybe a few one day a week. Or if you take him out you can give him one to let him know good things come when he comes out. they have a tendency to get addicted to them so if you feed them a lot they will go on a hunger strike and only eat supers.

He loves his bugs. So far he has not refused anything. I just started him on dubia's and he is all about them. Thank you for explaining treat. I ordered 50 not realizing that... hopefully they live a while. LOL

Avid Member

Avid Member

Thank you. I did find that info in a thread. I am still trying to figure out what staple feeders are. The Care sheets give a great list but don't break them down into every feed staple and treats. Also how often are "treats" given? With Super worms are they like an every feed staple or how often should they be fed. Or I am possibly over thinking this completely.

I use roaches as my number 1 and black soldier flies (adults) as my number 2. Superworms probably are 15% of their diet. Those and crickets are the only ones i can think if that combine price, ease and nutrition to make staples.

Established Member

I use roaches as my number 1 and black soldier flies (adults) as my number 2. Superworms probably are 15% of their diet. Those and crickets are the only ones i can think if that combine price, ease and nutrition to make staples.

Chameleon Enthusiast

Superworms are very easy to keep and you can breed your own to keep a colony going if you aren't going to feed too much. Put them in a bin with some oatmeal or bran, and feed them. I sprinkle bee pollen in as well. When you are ready to breed them, pull out several worms and isolate them from each other, starving them. They will turn into "aliens", and then hatch into beetles. Put the beetles together in another bin with bran and they will mate and lay eggs. Wait 'til you see the bedding wriggling, and then pull out the beetles, allowing the baby superworms to grow up.

Established Member

Superworms are very easy to keep and you can breed your own to keep a colony going if you aren't going to feed too much. Put them in a bin with some oatmeal or bran, and feed them. I sprinkle bee pollen in as well. When you are ready to breed them, pull out several worms and isolate them from each other, starving them. They will turn into "aliens", and then hatch into beetles. Put the beetles together in another bin with bran and they will mate and lay eggs. Wait 'til you see the bedding wriggling, and then pull out the beetles, allowing the baby superworms to grow up.

Member

Whether or not a particular insect is actually hard to digest is kind of hard to determine. Originally people thought it was related to chitin content but some of the insects people believe are hard to digest contain less chitin than ones they think are easier to digest, so that hypothesis doesn't really work. The only time I've really had a problem is I had some salamanders that would pass black soldier flies through. A lot of times it was just the exoskeleton, though. The same salamanders digested mealworms without issue. Their main diet was crickets and earthworms. The next thing you'll hear about are calcium to phosphorous ratios, but again it's not a simple question since most insects ratio changes based on its diet. We know how to create an ideal ratio in most feeder insects by adjusting the amount of calcium in diet upward 24-72h before feeding. Finally, there have been suggested links between roaches and gout. The thought was the problem was the insects diet. However, I am aware of a recent necropsy involving severe goat where the roaches were only fed vegetables. Obviously, we shouldn't be basing anything off an individual animal but it will create concern if other, similar cases come to light.

Established Member

Whether or not a particular insect is actually hard to digest is kind of hard to determine. Originally people thought it was related to chitin content but some of the insects people believe are hard to digest contain less chitin than ones they think are easier to digest, so that hypothesis doesn't really work. The only time I've really had a problem is I had some salamanders that would pass black soldier flies through. A lot of times it was just the exoskeleton, though. The same salamanders digested mealworms without issue. Their main diet was crickets and earthworms. The next thing you'll hear about are calcium to phosphorous ratios, but again it's not a simple question since most insects ratio changes based on its diet. We know how to create an ideal ratio in most feeder insects by adjusting the amount of calcium in diet upward 24-72h before feeding. Finally, there have been suggested links between roaches and gout. The thought was the problem was the insects diet. However, I am aware of a recent necropsy involving severe goat where the roaches were only fed vegetables. Obviously, we shouldn't be basing anything off an individual animal but it will create concern if other, similar cases come to light.

Thank you for sharing all that info. It is a lot of information as a whole and trying to balance it all it when your new can be a bit overwhelming. Everything others share really helps me to learn so much quicker.

Member

My veiled is less than 3 months old. So far I tried feeding him flightless fruit flies, crickets, dubia roaches, bsfl and Turkestan roaches. He did not take the bsfl. Occasionally I saw him snagging the fungus gnats and isopods in his enclosure. I will be trying out silkworms, wax moths and grasshoppers next.

Member

Thank you for sharing all that info. It is a lot of information as a whole and trying to balance it all it when your new can be a bit overwhelming. Everything others share really helps me to learn so much quicker.

The best solution is to feed as wide a variety of insects as possible. There are also some decent scientific publications. Mark Finke has quite a few publications that would be well worth the time to read.

Established Member

The best solution is to feed as wide a variety of insects as possible. There are also some decent scientific publications. Mark Finke has quite a few publications that would be well worth the time to read.